Institute for Public Affairs2010-03-11T16:01:52+00:00ExpressionEngineCopyright (c) 2010, IPABiden’s Big Speechtag:ouradio.org,2010:/33.671862010-03-11T14:05:51+00:002010-03-11T16:01:52+00:002010-03-11T14:05:51+00:00
In the wake of the events earlier this week coinciding with Vice President Biden’s visit to Israel, one had to wonder whether his centerpiece speech to the Israeli public this morning would be radically altered, or just tweaked.
After delivery, it seems it was more the latter.
VP Biden flatly stated that the United States has no better friend than Israel and flatly stated, as he did earlier this week to Chris Matthews, that "the U.S. is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Period."
The Jerusalem Post’s David Horovitz correctly notes that the VP “touched on all the issues that matter most to us. Unlike President Obama in Cairo last June, Biden did take the few moments to note the historic ties between the Jewish people and this land. He insisted that the US was 'determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Period.' He empathized with Israelis’ shaken faith in the prospect of peace given the violence that had followed us across the border when we pulled out of Lebanon and Gaza. And he reiterated that, for all the bumps and tensions, the US-Israeli bond was fundamentally 'impervious to any shifts.'”
It is also worth noting the Vice President’s emphatic statement earlier in the week (and not at all diluted after the Ramat Shlomo contretemps) that “There is no space between the United States and Israel when it comes to Israel's security."
All in all, this was an important visit and, even with (or maybe because of?) the difficulties that occurred while the Vice President was on the ground, it may well have achieved its central purpose of re-assuring Israelis at large of the strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship and also the need to nurture it consistently and not take it for granted.
-- ]]>Meeting with the President on Faithtag:ouradio.org,2010:/33.671352010-03-09T21:13:46+00:002010-03-10T17:14:47+00:002010-03-09T21:13:46+00:00
Today, the OU’s Nathan Diament joined with the full complement of members of President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships to present its recommendations for Administration policies and initiatives to senior officials, including the President.
Over the course of the day, the Council presented its recommendations in key policy areas to senior officials who deal with each of those areas, including:
Secretary of Health & Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, USAID Director Raj Shah, White House Domestics Policy Director Melody Barnes, National Security Council Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, and EPA Director Lisa Jackson.
The group concluded the day in a meeting with President Obama who appreciated the Council members’ service and hard work in forging common ground across religious, political and philosophical lines. The President also indicated his strong intention to follow through on and implement many of the Council’s recommendations.
-- ]]>Key Week in Israel; Biden Lands Todaytag:ouradio.org,2010:/33.669772010-03-08T16:00:34+00:002010-03-08T17:07:35+00:002010-03-08T16:00:34+00:00
As previously noted, Vice President Joe Biden is visiting Israel this week.
Israelis and Palestinians seem to be prepared to greet the Veep with the gift of starting “proximity talks”, which are intended to lead into direct peace negotiations.
Of course, always ready to put forward the specter of terrorism, the Palestinians are threatening that this is the “last chance” for peace, while Israelis are just plain skeptical.
The key event to watch this week is Vice President Biden’s speech at Tel Aviv University, which The White House has titled: “The Enduring Partnership between the United States and Israel.”
-- ]]>Shutting Down a Church in Dallastag:ouradio.org,2010:/33.668222010-03-04T19:21:30+00:002010-03-04T20:26:31+00:002010-03-04T19:21:30+00:00
The Dallas Housing Authority is asserting a view on church-state separation that even the most extreme church-state separationists don’t agree with.
The Dallas Morning News reports that the DHA has ordered an end to a church worship service in a public housing facility on the grounds that because the housing is publicly funded it can’t be a place where the residents exercise their religious freedom. A federal HUD spokesman has already indicated that this is an inaccurate reading of federal law.
We hope and urge that this misunderstanding of what the Constitution demands is corrected immediately.
--
]]>MD Governor O’Malley on BOAST Tax Credittag:ouradio.org,2010:/33.667902010-03-04T16:51:21+00:002010-03-04T18:00:22+00:002010-03-04T16:51:21+00:00
In a letter to the Maryland Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley expresses his support for the proposed BOAST tax credits and urges the Senate to pass the bill without delay so the tax credit can be implemented this year.
--]]>OU in Annapolistag:ouradio.org,2010:/33.666742010-03-03T14:25:27+00:002010-03-03T15:28:28+00:002010-03-03T14:25:27+00:00
Proponents of a business tax credit measure introduced in the Maryland General Assembly that would support both public and private schools are rallying this morning outside the State House in Annapolis. The legislation would give Maryland businesses a 75 percent state tax credit for donations to organizations supporting scholarships and school programs.
The Orthodox Union's Deputy Director of Public Policy Howie Beigelman and Legislative Fellow Jesse Hervitz are in Annapolis with the BOAST coalition to advocate for the tax credit. The OU submitted testimony in support of the tax credit to the Maryland Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.
--]]>VP Biden Seeks Input for Israel Triptag:ouradio.org,2010:/33.666572010-03-03T12:51:17+00:002010-03-03T13:53:18+00:002010-03-03T12:51:17+00:00
Yesterday, Orthodox Union policy director Nathan Diament joined leaders of about a dozen American Jewish organizations to meet with Vice President Joe Biden and senior White House officials in advance of the Vice President's trip to Israel next week.
The meeting's contents were deemed to be off the record, but it is appropriate to share the following:
The meeting lasted for more than an hour and the Vice President and the White House staff were greatly interested in the candid views of the invited group as to how the Vice President should use his time in Israel to best underscore and advance the strong and longstanding special relationship between the United States and Israel.
In the wake of the meeting, it can be said that Israelis and supporters of Israel in the U.S. should pay close attention to what Vice President Biden says and where he goes next week - it will be important.
--]]>OU Rejects State Dept. Critique of Israel’s “Heritage Plan”tag:ouradio.org,2010:/33.664732010-02-25T18:24:00+00:002010-02-25T19:32:01+00:002010-02-25T18:24:00+00:00
Today, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America rejected criticism voiced by a US State Department spokesman of the "Heritage Plan" recently announced by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Under the Heritage Plan, Israel will invest $100 million in rehabilitating historic and religious sites throughout Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu's inclusion of the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem drew criticism from Palestinians - criticism the Orthodox Union denounced earlier in the week.
Yesterday, a State Department spokesman said the US found the inclusion of these sites in the plan "provocative."
Today, the Heritage Plan was criticized by UNESCO, whose criticism ignores the Jewish connection to these holy sites.
Orthodox Union leaders rejected this assertion, stating:
"It is not 'provocative' to invest in and rehabilitate holy/historic sites - that are open to both Jews and Muslims. Nothing PM Netanyahu has proposed precludes a peace agreement.
It is provocative for the Palestinians to assert that there is no Jewish connection to these sites and for them to use this as yet another false basis for refusal to engage in peace negotiations."
---]]>Prayerful ‘Shmoozes” from Obama & Hillary…tag:ouradio.org,2010:/33.654742010-02-04T14:29:23+00:002010-02-04T21:50:24+00:002010-02-04T14:29:23+00:00
The annual “National Prayer Breakfast” took place this morning in Washington, DC. The annual event garners attendance by the President, cabinet members, diplomats, members of congress and religious leaders from around the country. The OU’s Nathan Diament was privileged to attend, but was certainly not the “only yarmulke in the room.”
The program was ably co-chaired by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Jonny Isaakson (R-GA).
This morning, President Obama delivered remarks calling for civility while borrowing from Biblical language to blast the “tower of Babel” that has infected America’s politics.
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) read from this week’s Torah reading and invoked Yitro’s advice to Moses to share the burden of leadership with others.
But the keynote speaker was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who delivered an inspiring and personal account of the role of faith in her personal life and faith’s challenge to all people to do more and do better in serving those in need.
]]>Tax Credit Ups & Downstag:ouradio.org,2010:/33.654282010-02-03T16:07:00+00:002010-02-03T17:15:01+00:002010-02-03T16:07:00+00:00
Tuition Tax Credits, which the OU has unabashedly championed as a constitutional way to help struggling parents pay for education expenses of their children in both public and nonpublic schools have been in the news lately. In Iowa, the state’s Catholic Bishops were in the capital recently to urge legislators to reject Gov. Chet Culver’s proposal to cut the credit from 65% to 40% and to cut the program cap from $7.5 million to $5 million.
Further west, in Arizona, efforts are underway to reform the tax credit scholarship program – investigations by the Arizona Republic turned up irregularities in the program. The OU submitted testimony to the Legislature in November urging that reforms be made to ensure the law is followed but that the program – which helps so many in need, remain able to continue its positive track record of proven success.
Finally, Georgia’s program gets a write up in an article on Atlanta’s Catholic schools, noting that next year it will be distributing some $2.8 million in scholarships through that program.